Hand control accelerator for automobiles



Nov. 29, 1949 A. MISHIPLEY HAND CONTROL ACCELERATOR FOR AUTOMOBILESFiled July 23, 1948 accelerator which Patented Nov. 29, 1949-"HAND*CONTRDL ACGEEERATGRUFGR .:LAUTOMOBILES V .IArclii'MfIShipleyfChicagmi-Ill. Apiflicittlon only-:23, 1948; Serial No.' 40}293 a3 .Claims. 1

This inventionarelates-to ainew and improved hand control aacceleratorfor: automobiles.

The presentlday automobiles-arebuiltwith foot control acceleratorxpedalsandaas a rule .nohand throttle is provided. Certainautomobiles doprovide asemblance of'a'handwaccelerator positioned. on the dash. panel,.but' they are: inadequate for successful use as a hand operatedaccelerator and throttle. The need exists. for-a. hand control will beconveniently located to the operators .hands and which will not .be

in the way of gear-shift leversor other mechanisms and whichwillebecreadily attachable to the presentfoot pedal-accelerator.sothatcomplicated attaching mechanisms to the throttle valve of the carburetorare not necessary.

An important object ofthepresent device is to provide a hand operatedacceleratoflocated a'd- Jacent the operators hand infthe vicinity of thesteering wheel of an automobile.

Another important object of.thls= invention is to provide a handcontrolaccelerator whiohlis readily attachedto thezexisting Tfoot pedalaccelerator.

Another and still further objector-this invention is the provisionofa-hand control accelerator and throttle attachment ionautomobileswhich will permit operation of the throttle valveuby either the footpedal. accelerator or the hand operated accelerator.

Still another importantobject of-this invention is the provision of ahandlever throttle control which may be operated forcontinuouslyvarlable speeds of the automobileor-which may be setat anydesired speed.

; Another and. still further. important. object is to provide a simple,compact unit capable of attachment to the presentexisting foot pedalaccelerator of automobilestoprovidea hand control accelerator leverwhich -wil1-be simply. and conveniently operated by thedriver-of theautomobile.

Still another object of this inventionl-isthe universal adaptability ofthe .handcontrol throttle of this invention to the trol of anyautomobile.

A further object of the' invention is to provide a. hand controlledaccelerator for. automobiles which may be. conveniently..adjusted sothatby manual operation thereof. it. willtake over .the control from thestandard'foot, pedalaccelerator at any desired position initsrangeofmovement.

Other and further important objectspfthis invention will become.apparent from the dis- "foot..pedal 'throttle con- 1:2 closuresirithe-following specificationiand accompanyinge-drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure: 1 isarside.elevational view partially in section of the.:interiorxof arr-automobile showing thehandcontrol:acceleratoraonthisinvention.

Figuresz :isra front .-.e'levational=aview of the de viceasshown inFigured.

- Figure 3 is an enlarged: perspective viewro ra portion of theccconnectingclinkage ibetween the iootrpedal acceleratorlandznthe:hand:levervconrol.

rli'igurea 4. is .aiside.e1evationalzview partially in section L ofthecattachm'ent roft: theihan'dcontrol mechanism to. thei automobile:cla'sh panel.

Figure 5z-is 'a top plan viewiofuthe; .device as shown inrEigiure 4.

-.:As:shown inv the drawings:

The referencetnumeral 1H! 'indicates- :.generally .the bodyof.-anautomobilezhavingn floor portion l ,l a: front seat I 2 ,ua;steering: column: i 3 a root ;pedal= accelerator and throttle; controli-'l 4; #a dash ,panel l;5, :a steering wheel' l 5, awwindshiel'd l1, anda. roof -l8. Theiioot pedalsaccelerator i4221s hinge'd at I 4" on.anaupwardly andsiorwardlyainclined wall :or :rpartitionsmember ii9:..forming 2a continuation. of the floor H. LDBpIGSSiOnLOf-IEthG:hinged pedalz-M 02111885thelarmfimBmberiii-U to swing a. ibell cranklever 2 I abo'ut'za"; pivot 22: on a. bracket .23 :tfastene'd totheriinclinedr. partition ..l9.at:24iby rivetsior' bolts or -thezlike.:Aconne'cting link -25. is, joined: to .1.the:bell-;crank. leverezZl:and projects .for-wardly to ca wcarburetor and -:throttle%valve orthe-:like. (notshown). eAasprlng 26 extending-between the :bell .rcrank.member I .and the: inclined .floor; panel .or partition .I 9 :isarranged-to, provide resiliency. to the. .iootz.pedal and lholds it in'a' 'normal up .or throttle .i-position. -A vertical partition 21 formsancintegral part of the'rpartition -l-ii and.:is.ifastened-.at 28.'-;to-.an engine hood29.-of.the automobile. :Themantition --l-9--21 separatesthepassenger.compartment-and engine compartment.

WA :hand: control 2 accelerator -lever 30 r is.: positioned adjacent thesteeringwheel. i 6 so ithat'ian -operator:or driver: may :manipulatethehand lever to while retaining his; griponthe steering wheel. :A bracketmember-31 .istfastened to the dash :panel: i 5 at. 32 by; boltsorrivets. or thellike. This construction is shown in the enlarged viewsso! Figures 4 and-5. -Asxbest1shown:invFigurefiwthe .bracket 3 l is:equipped with horizontally. spaced vertical side'plates 33 -and-3dlhaving horizontally ,alignedapertures. The handlever 30 is-held andpivoted-.01; afitransverse aidsdefined byaa bolt member 35 between thebracket side plates 33 and 34. A winged nut 35 is adapted to draw up onthe bolt 35 and. pull the plate members 33 and 34 together causing thelever 30 to be more or less tightly held therebetween. The hand lever 30is equipped with a hand engaging portion 37, a central relatively fiatapertured disk portion 38, and a downwardly and rearwardly extendingportion 39. The central flat disk-like portion 38 has a central aperturefor the reception of the bolt 35. The bracket members 33 and 34 arecompressed against the flat disk portion 38 giving considerable surfacefor frictional engagement between the hand lever 33 and the bracket 3|.The downwardly and rearwardly inclined portion 39 of the hand lever 30is pivotally joined at 40 to a forwardly extending link or piston 4|. Asbest shown in Figure the lower end 39 of the lever arm 3|] is formed asa clevis 42 for the reception of the end of the forwardly extending linkor piston 4|. A pin 43 passes transversely through the clevis 42 and thepiston 4|, providing for pivotal connection therebetween.

In order to supply the hand lever 30 with means to effect accelerationof the automobile there is no means of connection to the carburetor asis ordinarily the case with throttle controls, but in lieu of thisdirect connection to the carburetor the present hand device merelyeffects operation of the regular foot pedal throttle control which, ofcourse, in turn is connected to the engine carburetor. The presentdevice includes a bracket or plate 44, the lower portion 45 of which isadapted for connection to the foot pedal throttle Id of the automobile.This attachment takes the form of bolt or rivet members 45. The lowerportion 45 is preferably covered with a rubber pad such as ordinarilyaccompanies foot pedals in automobiles. This rubber covering, shown at41, provides a good surface for engagement by the operators foot andprevents slipping off the pedal by the friction gained by the use of therubber. In other words, the foot pedal of the automobile issubstantially retained in its present form and may be continued to beused without hindrance from the hand lever accelerator attachment. Thestrip or plate member 44 extends upwardly and is bent to substantiallyfollow and lie parallel to the partition |3--2'i. The upper portion ofthe plate 44 is designated as 48 and at its upper end carries oneportion 45 of a hinge 55. The connection between the upwardly extendingmember 48 and the hinge arm 48 is accomplished by bolts orrivets or thelike 5|. Another arm 52 of the hinge 50 is normally positioned at rightangles to the arm 49 and carries an elongated sleeve member 53 extendingin a horizontal plane rearwardly toward the dash panel l5 of theautomobile. A rigid connection is provided between the arm 52 and thesleeve 53 either by welding or riveting. A weld is shown at 54 and thisstructural portion is shown in detail in enlarged Figure 3 of thedrawings.

The rearward end of the sleeve 53 slidably receives the forward end ofthe link or piston 4|. This rod member 4| is reciprocated longitudinallyof the automobile'by movement of the hand lever 30. The member 4| isprovided with a collar 55 which is adjustable along the length of therod 4|. As shown in the present form the rod 4| is threaded and thecollar 55 threadedly engages the shank of the member 4| so that it maybe positioned at any location along the length thereof. There is noother connection between the member 4| and the elongated sleeve member53 so that the foot pedal l4 may be depressed and there will be nocorresponding movement of the hand lever 30. All that will happen isthat the sleeve member 53 will separate from the collar 55. The end 56of the member 4| is sufficiently long so that it will continue to remaintelescoped within the sleeve 53 upon full depression of the regular footpedal |4. Thus when it is desired to effect operation of the automobileby the hand lever it is pulled forwardly as indicated by the dashedlines in Figure 1 whereupon the collar 55 contacts the end of the sleeve53 and through the hinge which is shown in detail in Figure 3 depressionof the foot pedal I4 is effected. The winged nut 36 may be adjusted sothere is a minimum of friction between the lever and the bracket and insuch event the hand lever will return to its throttled position withoutmanual movement of'the lever. If it is desired the winged nut may betightened sumciently so there will be enough friction between thebracket side plates and the fiat portion of the lever to retain the handlever against return movement by action of the accelerator pedal spring,but not so tight as to prevent easy manual adjustment of the hand lever.When lower speeds are desired the hand lever is moved forwardly, andalthough there is no positive connection between the collar and thesleeve 53 the spring 26 normally returning the foot pedal I4 issuificiently strong and active to return the linkage mechanismconstituting that portion which is attached to the foot pedal l4 andextends upwardly and thence rearwardly to connection with the downwardextension 39 of the hand lever 35.

The adjustable collar 55 may, of course, take any form for itsadjustment along the length of the rod 4|. Adjustment of this collar 55simultaneously provides adjustment for the relative location of theoperative range of the lever 3|).

This, it should be understood, is optional on the part of the operator.Should the operator want his hand lever to begin operation of theaccelerator from its extreme vertical position as shown in full lines inFigure 1, then the collar 55 would have to be in abutting position withthe end of the sleeve 53. However, should the operator desire that handoperation would not commence until the hand lever 35 and its operatingportion 3'! had been moved rearwardly so that it was closely adjacentthe periphery of the steering wheel as indicated in either of the dashedline positions of the lever 30 as shown in Figure 1 then the collar 55would be set spaced from the sleeve 53 such as shown in the dashed. lineposition of the collar in Figure l. This would provide that the initialmovement of the hand lever 3'? would be a lost motion movement and wouldnot effect real accelerator operation until such time as the collar 55contacted the end of the sleeve 53 in abutting engagement and therebyimparted depression movement to the hinged foot pedal it.

An important advantage of the hand accelerator is realized whenstartingan automobile on an incline. The hand accelerator operator maybe preset or regulated so the engine is running sufiiciently fast togive the automobile enough power to travel up the incline immediatelyupon release of a brake pedal. Without the hand control it was necessaryto quickly shift ones foot from the brake to the accelerator andoftentimes the automobile rolled down th incline during this attemptedshift. With the hand control the driver has complete and easy control ofthe automobile in any situation.

Numerous details of construction may be varied throughout a wide rangewithout departing from the principles disclosed herein and I thereforedo not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than asnecessitated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hand control accelerator for attachment to the regular foot pedalaccelerator of an automobile which has a floor, a partition separatingthe passenger and engine compartments, an accelerator foot pedal hingedto said floor substantially at said partition and spring held in anupwardly and forwardly inclined position and arranged to accelerate theautomobile upon depression thereof, a dash panel spaced above the floorand rearwardly of the partition, comprising a plate fastened to saidhinged foot pedal accelerator, said plate having an upward extensionsubstantially followin the partition, a hinge carried by the upper endof said plate extension and having a swingable arm extending rearwardlyfrom said plate extension, a sleeve fastened to said hinge arm andprojecting rearwardly to a position adjacent to and below the dashpanel, a bracket fastened to the dash panel and having horizontallyspaced vertical side plates, said side plates having horizontallyaligned apertures, a hand lever generally vertically disposed having ahand engaging portion, a fiat central apertured portion, and adownwardly extending portion, hinge bolt means passing through thebracket side plate apertures and the hand lever aperture at the flatcentral portion, nut means engaging said hinge bolt means to vary thefrictional engagement of the hand lever and the bracket, said hand leverhaving a clevis'at the lower end of its downwardly extending portion,piston means hingedly attached at one end to said clevis and extendingforwardly and telescoping within said sleeve, and means between saidpiston means and said sleev for imparting movement from one to theother.

2. Adevice as set forth in claim 1 in which the last named meanscomprises a collar adjustably positioned along the length of said pistonand adapted to abut the end of said sleeve. 3. A hand controlaccelerator for attachment to the regular foot pedal accelerator of anautomobile which has a floor, a partition separating the passenger andengine compartments, an accelerator foot pedal hinged to said floorsubstantially at said partition and spring held in an upwardly andforwardly inclined position and arranged to accelerate the automobileupon depression thereof, a dash panel spaced above the floor andrearwardly of the partition, comprising a plate fastened to said hingedfoot pedal accelerator, said plate having an upward extensionsubstantially following the partition, a hinge carried by the upper endof said plate extension and having a swingable arm extending rearwardlyfrom said plate extension, a sleeve fastened to said hinge arm andprojecting rearwardly to a position adjacent to and below the dashpanel, a bracket fastened to the dash panel, said bracket having anaperture therein, a hand lever generally vertically disposed having ahand engaging portion, a central apertured portion, and a downwardlyextending portion, hinge means passing through the bracket aperture andthe hand lever aperture at the central portion, said hand lever havingconnecting means at the lower end of its downwardly extending portion,piston means hingedly attached at one end to said connecting means andextending forwardly and telescoping within said sleeve, and meansbetween said piston means and said sleeve for imparting movement fromone to the other.

ARCHIE M. SHIPLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,585,855 Hawn May 25, 19261,608,992 Peary Nov. 30, 1926 1,801,987 Strand Apr. 21, 1931 1,906,366Burns May 2, 1933 2,411,500 Bradley Nov. 26, 1946

